First Listen: Mark Kraus – Put an Old Record On

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Mark Kraus has been through the highs and lows of life as a musician. As the founder of Boston’s Jr. Corduroy, the band’s 2002 release, I Don’t Want to be Around When You’re Gone for Good, was named one of the year’s 10 best albums by the Boston Globe. Such accolades being short-lived given the band’s dissolution, Kraus moved to New York City, later forming indie act Tsui. Five years removed from Tsui, Kraus’s muse has returned.

Set to release his solo debut, The Story of Everything, the album’s lead single, “Put an Old Record On,” features hushed vocals, strings and acoustic guitar that balance Kraus’s self-loathing poet lyrics.

To be released on 18 August, you can stream “Put an Old Record On” below. Kraus will play limited East Coast dates leading up the album’s release (dates are here). Until then, keep an eye on Kraus’s Bandcamp page to pre-order The Story of Everything.